Families may come in every possible configuration, but the common thread that is woven through them all is that they are a cohesive unit. Some have an easier go of it than do others, yet they all manage to survive.
Which, as far as Robbie Bean is concerned, is reason to celebrate. The retired educator and indefatigable community leader started Celebration of Families-Students, Inc. to celebrate all that is good; awards are presented annually at the Family Extravaganza held at New Hope Baptist Church.
The evening includes a musical program and a post-ceremony social.Glenda Barry reprised her role of mistress of ceremonies; the National Anthem was sung by Marissa Murdock and other musical selections came from the Children’s Mass Choir and the Colorado Mormon Chorale. Presenters and narrators included Vivian Wilson, Judy Orecchio, Fannye Belle Evans, Jo McDonald Smith, Chris Martinez, and Damon Barry.
Dozens of awards were given; highlights include:
Couple of the Year, Joan Wallach and Arthur Rosenblum, co-editors of the Greater Park Hill News; Diversity Award, Nora Cocha, who has translated from English to Spanish the numerous letters that Celebration of Families-Students, Inc. sends to the honorees; Courage Award, Amener Williams, a mother, grandmother, singer, educator and youth caregiver; Teacher Award, Juanita Parrish, who teaches third grade at the Florida Pitts Waller School and is active with Shiloh Baptist Church and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Also, Outstanding Supporter/Service Award, Norman Winterowd, president of the Colorado Mormon Chorale and a member of the Celebration of Families-Students, Inc. board; Outstanding Youths, Jamilia Walker and Lawson Williams. Walker is a senior at Denver School of the Arts, where she maintains a 4.18 grade average and serves as president of the high school choir, chorale choir and National Honor Society. Williams, a freshman in George Washington High School’s International Baccalaureate Program, earned the rank of Eagle Scout this past December.
Zion Baptist Church was recognized as the Church Family of the Year, while individual families being honored included the Belen Rodriquez family from Harrington Elementary School; Jenny Harris and Lucinda Jackson, plus the Ulysses and Lillie Johnson families from Challenges, Choices and Images; the families of New Hope Baptist Church members Roberta A. Johnson and Walter J. Greene; and the John and Emma Jackson family of Zion Baptist Church.Dorothy Ann Witt King received the Historian Award for producing the first documentary on African-American history in the West, a deed that had been commemorated earlier with an award presented to her by then-President Jimmy Carter.
King’s father was one of the original Buffalo Soldiers and her husband’s family are third-generation Coloradans.

Pictures taken at the Family Extravaganza are posted at denverpost.com/SeenGallery.

Denver Post Society Editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. Her column appears every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday in the Scene section.

Study after study has shown that when it comes to charitable fundraisers, Denver has more per capita than any comparably sized city in the nation. Joanne Davidson has been covering them for The Denver Post since 1985, coming here from her native California where she'd spent the previous seven years as San Francisco bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report magazine.